Dressing/Sauces/Condiments

Gravy 101

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Easy Gravy

Make Your Own Gravy

Making gravy for any occasion is easy once you know the not-so-secret formula.

Basic gravy is made by adding equal parts of a fat to a thickener then adding a warm liquid.

This recipe makes 2 cups of gravy.
Tools
  • Whisk
  • Liquid Measuring cup
  • Knife
  • Small pot
  • Strainer (optional)
 
Ingredients
  • FAT– butter, oil, bacon, turkey, chicken, beef, etc EQUAL PARTS TO Your Thickener
  • Thickener-Flour or cornstarch (if you use cornstarch your gravy will be light)
  • Warm Liquid – 2 cups of hot, low sodium stock (beef, turkey, chicken, etc)
Recipe
  • 3 tablespoons of beef, chicken, turkey, drippings OR butter —Melted
  • 3 tablespoons of flour stirred into the fat
  • Cook 1-2 minutes to cook the flour
  • Heat the stock
  • Whisk in hot stock gradually and bring to a boil. Whisk the whole time to prevent lumps.
  • The gravy will thicken once it comes to a boil keep stirring.
  • Turn heat to low until ready to serve.
DELISHTIPS
  • If your gravy is lumpy then pour the liquid through the strainer to remove the lumps

 

  • If your gravy isn’t as thick as you’d like, then make a paste out of a tablespoon of butter and flour in a bowl, add some gravy and whisk the butter-flour mixture until you have a really thick liquid, and then poured that into your gravy and bring to a boil again and it should thicken.

Basil Pesto

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Basil Pesto

Pretty Basil Pesto in Jars

We have a rather large herb garden on our property. It didn’t start out that way but many herbs are hardy here in Michigan and my small patches of 2-inch plants are now 6-8 feet wide! Basil isn’t hardy here but we spread many packets of seeds in the spring and the basil grows like crazy! An added bonus…Herbs are one of the few items that the deer won’t eat! Making pesto is super easy and a great way to use up the extra basil from your garden. Basil freezes perfectly and you can have a taste of summer all winter long. You can use pesto as a dip, marinade, add it to soups, stews, and chili as well. It’s like a flavor bomb!  Six ingredients in a blender and BAM you are good to go!

When I make pesto I prepare enough for many meals. Please see my Delish Tips at the bottom of the recipe.

Tools:

  • Blender–chilled
  • Spatula spoon
  • Small saute pan
  • measuring cups and spoons

Ingredients:

  • 5 cups of basil leaves
  • 6 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup of pine nuts (toasted)
  • 1 tsp each of salt and pepper
  • 1 cup of olive oil
  • 1/2-3/4 cup of water
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Pine Nuts

DELISH TIP 1:

Toasting nuts brings a depth of flavor to any dish you make. I put my pine nuts in a dry pan over medium heat and shake them a little bit. They will get shiny and a little brown.  They are expensive so watch them carefully. If you can’t find pine nuts you can use slivered almonds. Toast them the same.

DELISH TIP 2: Cool your pine nuts before starting your pesto. I’ve even chilled the glass part of the blender in the fridge before making it to keep the pesto nice and green. If the basil gets warm your pesto will turn brown.

DELISH TIP 3:

Pour your pesto into an ice cube tray and cover with plastic wrap. Once frozen you can pop them out and store in a container or ziptop bag. Each cube is one serving. So if you are making pasta for four people, melt four cubes of pesto in a pan, toss with your hot pasta, and Voila!

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Pesto Cubes in an Ice Cube Tray

I throw cubes of pesto into my chili, spaghetti sauce, béchamel, scrambled eggs.  I thaw it and spread it on chicken too.

It’s an awesome little condiment to have on hand. Be careful that you wrap it up immediately after making it. The top oxidizes quickly (turns brown). So press some plastic wrap onto the surface of your pesto so no air can get to the surface.

Delish Basil Pasta

Chive Blossom Vinegar

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This is a very loose “recipe”. I have a large herb garden at home and am constantly looking for ways to use them up in the spring and summer. Chive Blossoms come and go so quickly in the spring and this is a tasty and beautiful way to add their mild oniony flavor all year long. You can change the number of blossoms with white wine vinegar to what you have in your garden. The amount I listed lasts our household until the following spring.  

 

Tools

  • glass bottle
  • scissors
  • strainer

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of Chive Blossoms
  • 48 oz White Wine Vinegar**                                        

Recipe              

Cut your chive blossoms, rinse them for dirt and critters. Put them in your jar or bottle and top with White Wine Vinegar. Steep in the refrigerator for at least a week. The vinegar should turn a beautiful pink color. You can strain the vinegar after a week or two if you like but I leave the blossoms in it.

DELISH TIP 1: You need to use a “fancier”, sweeter vinegar for this. I tried it with plain white vinegar and it wasn’t as good and apple cider vinegar is too strong. 

DELISH TIP 2: This makes the BEST salad dressing. Use 2 parts  Olive oil to 1 part vinegar, add a teaspoon or 2 of dijon mustard, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

 

Delish Tzatziki dip

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Tzatziki dip is a super versatile dip/sauce you can use for many applications. My husband likes it on his omelets, you can dip veggies and pita chips into it and spoon it on burgers and sandwiches. I’ve been taking it to parties for years and it disappears SO FAST! It’s really refreshing in the summer and its a good use for all those garden cucumbers you’re trying to use up! I like to use a metal bowl and place a tray of ice under the bowl to keep the sauce cold. This recipe is very flexible you can play with amounts as you like. We had a party for 30 people and I made a triple batch of the dip. Some dip we used for dipping chips in as an appetizer and more for our Gyros we made later! DELISH TIPS at the bottom of the page!!

Tools                                                                                                                                                 image

  •  box grater
  •  2 bowls one for mixing and one for serving
  • Large spoon
  • scissors-optional

Ingredients

  • 8 0z Plain  Greek Yogurt
  • 8 oz Sour Cream
  • One English Cucumber grated/ and squeezed*
  • 2-3 TBS minced  fresh garlic
  • One lemon -juice and zest
  • 1/4 cup of fresh herbs (I like dill, oregano and basil)
  • 1/2 tsp of salt
  • 1/4 tsp of pepper

Recipe

Grate cucumber on the large holes of a box grater. Squeeze the water out and drain liquid in the sink. Zest your lemon and add to the bowl, then add the juice (squeeze lemon into your hands to collect seeds).  Chop your herbs finely. If your knife skills are not great use scissors to cut the herbs into little pieces. Add the rest of your ingredients and stir until combined. You can serve immediately but I like to chill it for an hour so the flavors marry.

DELISH TIP 1– If you can find it use an English Cucumber (the long ones wrapped in plastic). The have very tiny seeds and a thin skin so they’re easy to grate. If you’re using garden cukes then you may want to peel the think skin first and remove seeds with a spoon.

DELISH TIP 2-  I like to just use my hands to squeeze the grated cucumber’s water out. You can push it with a spoon in a fine strainer OR you can squeeze it threw a cloth towel.

 

Kale Salad with Honey-Cumin Vinaigrette

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I Loooove salads! I love them even MORE when the warm weather comes. We finally had our first 75 degree day on Saturday and I had some girlfriends coming over for dinner, drinks and to catch up. I made this salad and they loved it!! I created this salad because I had a similar dish at a restaurant called MEX. I liked it so much I decided to make my own version! This is my  recipe of that salad and viniagrette.  I have some Delish tips for you at the end of the recipe too.

This recipe serves 4-6 people.

Salad Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of Baby Arugula                                                          image
  • 1 head of Boston or Bibb lettuce
  • 2 cups of chopped Kale
  • 8 oz of crumbled feta
  • 1/4 cup of toasted almonds
  • 1/4 cup of dried cranberries
  • 1/4 cup of salted pepitas*
  • 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice*

Chop the Kale finely so it’s easy to eat. Tear* the Bibb lettuce by hand. Toss the arugula and the rest of your ingredients into a large bowl and keep chilled until ready to serve.

Honey-Cumin Vinaigrette:

  • 2 tsp of ground cumin
  • 1 tsp of granulated garlic
  • 1 large shallot- finely diced
  • 1/2 tsp of turmeric
  • 1/4 cup of  rice vinegar
  • 1/2 cup of olive oil
  • 1/4  cup of honey (raw if you have it)
  • Dash of S & P

If you have a dressing shaker use it. Otherwise just use a container with a lid so you can shake up the dressing. Add all the ingredients saving the oil* and honey for the end. Stir with a whisk and chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

DELISH TIP 1: pepitas are shelled and salted pumpkin seeds. They are great to put in yogurt, trail mix and cereal.

DELISH TIP 2: I used precooked 90 second microwaveable brown rice for this salad.

DELISH TIP 3:  I prefer to tear my delicate lettuces by hand or use a VERY sharp knife. Otherwise, when your lettuce sits for a bit the cut edges will turn brown making for a yucky looking salad.

DELISH TIP 4: If you measure the oil first in a 1/4 cup measure , then the honey, the honey will slide right out!